He’s On My Speed Dial….And It Ain’t My Hubby

I’m starting this blog off on a sad note despite the title. I had something happen to me recently that really put things in perspective.  I was at Kohl’s picking out a new steam cleaner for the house when I noticed a sweet young girl next to me doing the same thing. We started comparing cleaners, prices…and then life. After talking to her, I discovered that she had been recently widowed. Her husband, an active duty Soldier, died six months ago while on a training mission at Ft. Polk, Louisiana. She has an 11-year-old son and despite the tragic hand her family had been dealt, seemed to be taking it all in stride.

 I became more choked up than her in that small Kohl’s aisle, but truth be told…we were both crying.  I was happy to hear that her experience with the Army after her Soldier’s death had been a good one. We always hear the horror stories of the casualty notifications and how they can go wrong, scarring a family for life. Although I don’t know the details, she told me that she knew she was going to be taken care of and she had the Army and it’s people to thank. She will soon be finishing her pharmacists degree and plans on living  and working here in the Ft. Hood area.  She’s very involved with Ft. Hood’s Army Community Services, SOS (Survivor Outreach Services) program,  and now spends most of her free time speaking to Army groups on how they can better the process for families when there’s a casualty.

The point of this story, is that while talking to this brave, strong woman…she told me the hardest thing for her now is when something in her home needs fixing. She had always relied on her husband for those things…and now was doing it all herself.  After telling me this, I immediately, whipped out  my phone and looked up the man I keep on my speed dial. He’s a local handy man named Wayne White. He works mostly in the Harker Heights area, but he is good, polite and very reasonable. She took his name and  number as well as mine, and we made plans to have coffee down the road. I hope it wasn’t just small talk, and that we really do sit down for that coffee. 

I am a firm believer that God crosses people’s paths for a reason and I know that on a day I was too concerned about getting my carpets cleaned for my next social function…God stopped me and introduced me to this remarkable woman. I hope that my simple gesture of handing her a phone number, will help her in the future.

I’m sure there are many handymen in the Ft. Hood area that are very good, but if you’re in need…here’s mine.

Wayne White 254-535-5873